Hills Learning

As far as group language classes go, this is probably the best of the best. I studied Cantonese here for three group sessions and was pleased with the small class size and the very useful material. Classes are 90 minutes, once a week, which gives you a fair amount of time to study all your material. (I’d suggest supplementing this class with something else on the side — a good study partner maybe? — since just once a week isn’t quite enough.)
Any of the problems you have here are pretty much the same you’d have at any other language learning facility. Overall, a very good place, and has a wide variety of languages you might have trouble finding elsewhere.

Being a learner in Cantonese for about three years, I’ve mostly been doing self study, meetups, and learning from native speakers to pick up Cantonese. After awhile, I felt that I needed some structure and direction with my learning. So I reluctantly told myself to find a learning center that teaches Cantonese. In the past, I’ve avoided finding language classes because I felt that the «traditional classroom setting» wasn’t the best way to learn a language; taking notes, studying, and passing a test wasn’t «learning a language.» Thankfully my leap of faith with Hills Learning removed those preconceptions. I found Hills Learning via a Google search for Cantonese classes. It wasn’t the top search when I was looking, but I gave it a shot since finding cost efficient language classes in Cantonese are hard to come by. So I gave Hills Learning a try. I do not regret having made this choice. The class size was relatively small — which can be a good thing if you need more individualized attention. Since these classes were small, it felt more personal and it encouraged everyone to participate more in the class — what’s the point of a language if you don’t try speaking! There were lesson notes given at the start of each class, material to go over, and of course homework. But what Hills Learning does well is their approach to conducting the class. There’s a stress in role-​playing and interacting with your fellow students. More time is devoted to practicing speaking the material for that day’s class, than just memorizing it. My teacher was very thorough and patient with all the students. My class had a curriculum, but it moved at a pace that tried to satisfy most of the students. Also the topics and material that were taught I felt were really relevant to how I would use Cantonese. Many books start you off with lessons that wouldn’t seem relevant to your day-​to-​day use of Cantonese, or they would be very technical with little real-​world examples and usage. The materials in the class taught me how to discuss weather, sickness, buying an apartment, going around town, etc. just to name a few, and coupled with technical points on grammar usage. Hills Learning’s classes cover all bases well on teaching a language — grammar, speaking, memorizing.
Oh wait, there’s more! Private lessons!
My initial exposure to Hills Learning was through private lessons. I didn’t feel confident enough to partake in classes, and I wasn’t sure on how good Hills Learning was so I tested the waters with private lessons. My Cantonese private lesson teacher conducted the first lesson to gauge my level, and tailored the rest of the lessons to how fast I picked up the material. The material that was taught was a mixture of what I wanted to learn along with stuff my teacher felt I needed to know. Just like the classes, the private lessons stressed speaking one-​on-​one after spending the first few minutes of class going over the material. Also the private lessons are very flexible because the time and place of each lesson is determined by the availability of both the teacher and student. I felt that taking private lessons well prepared me — in terms of knowledge and confidence — to take the classroom sessions.
Overall, Hills Learning has been and still is my best source for learning Cantonese. I’ve been with them for about 8 months, and I definitely feel a large improvement in my vocabulary, conversational skills, and confidence in speaking. I would highly recommend Hills Learning for any Cantonese learners out there who are considering taking their learning to the next level, and are on the fence about taking classes. The only thing you’ll regret is that you haven’t tried!

Hills Learning was the first place that popped up when I did a Google search for Thai Language Lessons in NYC. Having never really studied a foreign or Asian language before, I must say that the approach this school takes is very effective. It’s just a very clean, straight up approach. No «gimmicks.» From the very beginning, they stress importance on learning to read and comprehend and don’t just teach conversational. The class sizes are very small and our teacher was a native Thai, very patient and clearly loves to teach. I’ve only ever visited Thailand and know a few locals there but never bothered to learn any of the language. Not even a peep. After only 9 weeks (once a week) of Beginner Thai and 4 weeks (also once a week) of Advanced Beginner Thai, I am much further along in learning this language than I ever thought possible, i.e., I am able to speak, read and comprehend at a very basic survival level. This is impressive given the nature of the Thai alphabet and of Asian tonal languages and it’s also impressive in that I live in New York and cannot immerse myself in Thai culture in Thailand, although I plan to one day. Our teacher very much encouraged out-​loud conversation and her patience and accessibility made it very inviting and fun to just dive in and study. After each lesson she records her own voice speaking all the vocabulary and some conversation from the lesson, puts it online and this was extremely helpful. I could listen and repeat from my smartphone every day. It encouraged me to seek out other recordings and study and listen even harder. Since taking on learning a new language, I feel my brain functions better and I have new and profound respect for my own language. The school makes it very easy to register online, it’s Grand Central location is very easy to get to and I think the price that the lessons are offered for is quite affordable and worth every penny. I would definitely highly recommend this school for anyone who needs to learn an Asian language, be it for business or just for pleasure.